Problematique

Belle's POV: 

"Are we almost there?" I asked, laying my head down in Ryan's lap as he stroked my cheek. 

"2 more hours!" Casey called from the front of the van. 

The first show of the Friday Is Forever Tour was tomorrow, and we were currently driving to our destination of St. Louis. 

"Horses!" Casey squealed as I shot up and pressed my face to the window. 

"They're so pretty," I whispered, as I felt Ryan shake with laughter. 

"You're so odd," Ryan chuckled as I re-pressed my face to the window. 

"I used to have a horse when I was younger, his name was Merlo," I sighed sadly, lying back down. 

"Merlot? Like the wine?" Nash snickered. 

"No, his name doesn't have a T, duh," I retorted, sticking my tongue out at Nash. 

"That's a strange name," Ian said, fiddling with the radio.

"EYES ON THE ROAD!" Casey screamed, causing Ian to swerve and everyone to slid way over to the left.

"Ouch," Ryan said, rubbing his head. 

"Aww did baby hit his head?" I giggled as Ryan nodded. 

"I think a kiss will make it better," he smiled sheepishly as I bent forward and kissed his head. 

"Better?" I asked. 

"Better," Ryan confirmed as I grinned. 

One hour passed, and soon two was up. 

"Where the hell are we?" Jamie muttered sleepily, as Casey smiled. 

"We're in St. Louis! So wake up!" She yelped. 

"And here we are," Ian said, pulling into a sketchy looking parking lot. 

"Let me out! I'm dying!" I yelped, vaulting over the seats and out the door. "Solid ground!" I said, kneeling down and pressing my hands on the asphalt in relief. 

"I don't think I've ever seen you move that fast," Casey chuckled as I looked up at her and stuck my tongue out. 

"Well at my boyfriend can kinda drive and not swerve all over the place," I snapped as she rolled her eyes and walked over to Ian who wrapped his arm around her shoulder and kissed her head. 

"Why are you on the ground?" Jamie asked, squatting down next to me. 

"I don't like Ian's driving," I said simply.

"No one does," he replied, taking my hand and helping me up. 

"Yo peeps! Cameron just called and told us to meet them at the restaurant down the street," Nash said, pointing to the right.

"But I look icky," I mumbled, looking down at my frumpy outfit which consisted of my favorite pair of high waisted shorts and a Jack's Mannequin shirt I stole from Ryan. 

Ryan walked over to me and laced his fingers with mine, "It's perfect," he breathed, pressing his lips to me.

"Come on love birds," Casey sighed, grabbing my arm and pulling me to the restaurant. 

"It smells like whiskey in here," I commented, scrunching my nose. 

"Whiskey sounds good," Nash sighed as I rolled my eyes and pulled him along as well. 

"Well I'll be damned, there's Hot Chelle Rae," someone called from a booth behind us. 

I turned around to see  booths crowded with people, which I assumed were the bands. 

"Hi Ryan," a girl with long brown hair said, wiggling out of the booth to give Ryan a hug. 

"Jess, good to see you," he replied, giving her a hug. 

I felt a tinge of jealousy, but quickly brushed it off and walked over to the booth. 

"Hello," I smiled, waving nervously before Ryan came up from behind and wrapped his arms around my waist. 

"Everyone, this is my girlfriend Belle," Ryan said, kissing my cheek as my face turned a shade of red. 

"She's taken? Dammit!" Someone called from another booth and Ryan flipped them off. 

"Boys, can't live with them, can't live- well I guess we could live without them," the girl with brown hair joked as I smiled. "I'm Jess," she said, sticking her hand out as I shook it. "Glad to have another girl," she smiled. 

"Well here's another," I said, grabbing Casey's hand and dragging her over to Jess. "This is Casey," I said as Jess smiled and also shook her hand. 

We finished introducing ourselves to everyone, which took about an hour, and finally sat down in a crowded booth. Ryan told me to go sit with new people, so here I was, squished between Cameron of The Downtown Fiction and John Gomez of The Summer Set (I didn't have a problem with this). 

"Belle, that's a pretty name," David cooed from across the table. 

"You're so drunk David," I giggled, as he winked and took another sip of his beer. 

"Hey, eyes of the lady," Stephen joked as I blushed. 

"Awww! She's blushing!" Travis yelled as I buried my head in Cameron's shoulder. 

"Guys stop, she's obviously sensitive," Cameron smirked, so I slapped his chest and buried my head in John's shoulder. 

"Do anything to Belle and I kick your ass!" Ryan called from the booth over as a chorus of groans erupted from the booth. 

I opened my mouth to protest but was stopped when a round of shots was delivered to the table. 

"And the party begins," Stephen said, handing the glasses to everyone. 

"To tour?" Travis asked holding up his glass. 

"To tour!" We all cheered before the burning liquid passed down my throat. 

Soon one round of shots turned into two and two turned to five. 

"How much does a whale weigh?" I slurred, after stealing David's tequila and downing it.

"Not sure, why don't you go find one and weigh it?" Cameron asked straight faced as I shrugged and tried to climb over John.

"I was kidding," Cameron laughed, pulling me back down next to him. 

"I like your face," I giggled. 

"Dude, she's so drunk," John whispered to David. 

"At least she's not a violent drunk," David whispered back as John nodded in agreement. 

"I heard that!" I yelled, which attracted unwanted attention from a girl and her boyfriend walking by. 

"Keep it down will you?" She snapped as I grinned. 

"My boyfriend is prettier than yours!" I called before Cameron covered my mouth with his hand. 

"What did you say?" She asked in disbelief as I removed Cameron's hand. 

"Your boyfriend is ugly," I giggled as her eyes widened. 

"Listen here bitch, shut up and don't talk about my boyfriend like that. Where's your boyfriend anyways?" She said in a snotty tone. 

"Right there," I said, pointing to Ryan who was laughing about something with his band buddies. 

"Yeah sure," she scoffed as I narrowed my eyes. 

"Hey Ryan!" I called as he looked up. I leaned behind the booth and forcefully pressed my lips to his. Stunned, he pulled back suddenly as I heard the girl snicker. 

"You're such a liar," the girl jeered as I looked down at my hands, feeling hurt and embarrassed. 

"Well this was nice but we better get going," John said, as the girl rolled her eyes and returned to her table. 

John grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the booth. He wrapped his arm around my waist, preventing me from falling. 

"She's pretty drunk so... here ya go," John said, handing me off to Ryan. 

"Belle, baby, you alright?" Ryan whispered as I stared at the ground.  

"Can we go to the hotel?" I asked, still not meeting Ryan's gaze. 

"Sure hun," he said, making me sit down in a chair before he went to talk to Brian Dales.

My head began to ache and my vision blurred a bit. Did the hangover really have to come this early? 

"Ready to go?" Ryan asked as I nodded weakly. 

He scooped me up bridal style and carried me to our hotel across the street. He set me down carefully, going to check in. 

My head spun as I tried to sit up, but gave and lied back down on the couch. 
Ryan came back moments later, picking me up and carrying me away; in that time I lost consciousness.

***

My head was pounding when I opened my eyes. I groaned and rolled over to grab my phone from the bedside table. I saw a piece of paper, two Advil, and a glass of water. 

I picked up the note, which was Ryan saying he would be back later. I sighed and grabbed the Advil, downing them with the water. 

Just as I was finishing the glass, the door opened and Ryan stepped in. He went straight to the small kitchen as I laid back down. 

Last night seemed fuzzy, but bits and pieces stuck out to me; the girl, Ryan and the kiss. I furrowed my brow, trying to figure out what happened after that, but gave up when Ryan came back. 

I felt the bed shift as I mumbled a "Hey," to Ryan. 

"Feeling better?" He asked quietly. 

I tried to nod, but the simple movement caused my brain to ache. 

"I'm sorry," I muttered. 

"Why are you sorry?" Ryan asked, confused. 

"For embarrassing you, before tour started," I frowned. 

"Aw baby girl," Ryan cooed, pulling me onto his lap. "You were perfect. Everyone loved you."

"Ryan, I have a question," I said quietly. 

"Hmm?" Ryan mumbled, giving me a tired smile. 

I didn't want Ryan to hear any desperation in my voice, so I suddenly became extremely interested in my hair. 

"Belle, what is it? You look worried," Ryan said, a hint of worry in his voice. 

"Do you love me?" I barely whispered. I felt silly for asking the question, but after how Ryan reacted earlier tonight, I had to know. 

"To the moon and back," he said sweetly, taking my hands in his. 

He gently stroked my hands and lightly pressed his lips to my fingertips. I bit my lip and thanked the crappy hotel lighting for not being able to show my face-now bright red. 

We sat for awhile longer, chatting about tour plans, disregarding the previous discussion. Unfortunately, everything must come to an end eventually. The sun peeked in through the curtains as I groaned. 

"Was I that boring?" Ryan chuckled as I raised an eyebrow. 

"Yes, but-" I giggled as Ryan pretended to be upset. "I'm just kidding," I teased, pressing my lips lightly to his. 

Ryan grabbed me by the hips and played with the hem of my shirt. He scrunched my shirt up so it was bunched up around my chest, while planting a trail of kisses from my jawline to my collarbone. 

I bit his lip, causing him to groan and me to giggle. 

"We-have-to-get-ready," I muttered in between kisses. 

"Later," he mumbled as I managed to pull away from him. 

"Don't want be late on your first day," I smirked, sliding out of bed and to my suitcase. 

I grabbed a set of clothes and went to the bathroom to change. 

"Come on babe!" Ryan called from the other side of the door. 

"Be out in a sec!" I yelled back. 

Day one, here we go...